Sorting Tony's Ballot

The 2013 Tony Award nominating committee gave the theater world a few surprises and much to debate after it made its annual announcement on Tuesday morning.

Up For a Tony Award

A scene from 'Matilda: The Musical,' Associated Press

As expected, the nominators—an independent committee of 24 theater professionals appointed by the Tony Awards Administration Committee—embraced the British import "Matilda: The Musical," showering it with 12 nominations. But "Kinky Boots," the musical based on a 2005 British film, overtook "Matilda" with 13 nods. The latter, in which a drag queen helps a dowdy shoe business find a new market in stilettos, was never in doubt as a contender, but the production had to build its momentum on word-of-mouth, whereas "Matilda" arrived in New York as a critical darling and box-office success on London's West End.

"I think what we expected was to be in the category, but we didn't know what a close race it would be," said Daryl Roth, the lead producer, along with Hal Luftig, of "Kinky Boots."

The remaining contenders for Best Musical earned far fewer total nominations: "A Christmas Story" (three) is a throwback of a musical based on the beloved film of the same name, and "Bring It On" (two) is a spirited show about competitive cheerleading whose aggressive dance numbers earned Andy Blankenbuehler his nomination for Best Choreographer.

Among revivals of musicals, "Pippin" is the strongest contender, with 10 nominations, including one for its director,
Diane Paulus.
(Only five musical revivals were eligible for the award, and four of them earned nominations.) A highly inventive revival that upped the ante by adding all manner of circus acts, including a grandmother hoisted aloft, Ms. Paulus will give "Matilda" director Matthew Warchus tough competition. Mr. Warchus is a Brit with a Tony already on the mantle, whereas Ms. Paulus, an American, missed out on a trophy last year for her direction of "The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess."

The nominees for Best Play will be chewed on for weeks. Will the late Nora Ephron win a posthumous Tony for her "Lucky Guy"? (There is precedent: Jonathan Larson won for "Rent" in 1996.) Tony voters could be seduced by Colm Toíbín's contemporary exploration of a mother's anger and doubt in "The Testament of Mary," though the one-woman show did not nab nominations for its actress (Fiona Shaw) or director (Deborah Warner). Maybe a sterling comedy, "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike," by Christopher Durang, will capture the mood? Or will brilliant storytelling, in the form of Richard Greenberg's family drama "The Assembled Parties," outlast them all?

ENLARGE

A scene from 'Kinky Boots'
Reuters

Only two of the above, "Lucky Guy" and "Vanya," received nominations for their directors, George C. Wolfe and Nicholas Martin, respectively. That should immediately put them in greater contention for a Best Play win. A glaring omission from this category was Douglas Carter Beane's "The Nance," a winning story of love and theater set in the 1930s. Its star, the inimitable Nathan Lane, was predictably nominated for Best Actor, but the fact that the play was passed over is, to paraphrase the show's signature line, "low, simply low."

Best Revival of a Play will be a tough category to handicap. "The Trip to Bountiful" exuded such heart that it made calling your eldest loved ones (and/or having a cry over them) mandatory. "Orphans" featured some fine performances (not by Shia LaBeouf), but "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" and "Golden Boy" were both meaty soul-searchers played by some of the most talented actors on the stage.

It's no coincidence, then, that "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" and "Golden Boy" are also nominated for Direction of a Play, by Pam McKinnon and Bartlett Sher, respectively. Mr. Sher created a cold, hard world to surround the desperate boxer/violinist trying to escape poverty in "Golden Boy." In "Virginia Woolf," Ms. McKinnon drew from her cast some of the strongest and most consistent acting of the season.

Of course, the choice is not just between those two—Mr. Wolfe ("Lucky Guy") and Mr. Martin ("Vanya") must be considered. But this year has the potential to be historic: If Ms. McKinnon wins best Director of a Play and Ms. Paulus wins Best Director of a Musical—a distinct possibility—it will mark an unprecedented moment of triumph for women in theater.

ENLARGE

A scene from 'Bring It On: The Musical'
Joan Marcus

Among the performance nominations, the season's much-heralded Tinseltown celebrities—Bette Midler, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Chastain, Alec Baldwin—were mostly shut out. But the nominees for Leading Actress in a Play are long on talent, starting with the comic genius of Kristine Nielsen in "Vanya" and the singular channeling of Texas governor Ann Richards by Holland Taylor in "Ann."

If the Tony voters are in the anti-celebrity mode that the nominators clearly were, it might bad news for Tom Hanks, star of "Lucky Guy." The gents to beat are stage greats: Besides Mr. Lane in "The Nance," David Hyde Pierce gave a rant of Boomber-bait proportion in "Vanya"; young Tom Sturridge handled the demands of a developmentally stunted young man delicately in "Orphans"; and Tracy Letts brought the house down in "Virginia Woolf."

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The category of featured performances is so rich it's unfair. Tony Shaloub in "Golden Boy" would be a lock if not for Danny Burstein in the same play. Judith Light stole "The Assembled Parties," but Carrie Coon's performance in "Virginia Woolf" set the highest bar.

The Tonys for production elements are usually inside-baseball, but this year one oddity truly stands out: In the category of Lighting Design of a Musical, Kenneth Posner grabbed three of the four slots, for "Kinky Boots," "Pippin" and "Cinderella." His lone opponent is Hugh Vanstone of "Matilda," who could very well pull off the greatest upset of all time.

The 67th annual Tony Awards will be handed out on June 9 at Radio City Music Hall.

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